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First details of new Corvette

After months of teasers and speculation, Chevrolet has used this week’s Detroit Show to at last reveal a brand new Corvette.

Known as the C7, the latest version of America’s sports car boasts a substantially stiffer and lighter understructure, now made from aluminium, and the frame is clothed in a striking new body, significant parts of which are made from carbon fibre.

The 6.2-litre V8 engine is largely all-new too. It now produces 450bhp and can be connected either to a six-speed automatic transmission or a headline seven-speed manual gearbox.

The latest ‘Vette retains the familiar double wishbone and transverse leaf spring suspension arrangement of previous generations but, like all aspects of the new car, the design has been thoroughly revised to make it lighter and more effective. More controversially, the steering is now electrically power assisted.

Chevrolet has yet to release any performance claims for the new Corvette but it packs a great deal of on-paper promise, both in a straight line and around corners.